Segezha boosts plywood production 7.5%, exports 8% in 2024, planning to enter South Korean market

MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - Segezha Group boosted plywood production 7.5% year-on-year to 271,000 cubic meters in 2024 from 252,000 cubic meters in 2023, the timber industry holding told Interfax.

Segezha's main plywood producer, Vyatka Plywood Mill (VPM), produced more than 183,000 cubic meters in 2024, which corresponds to the production volumes recorded before 2022 and exceeds the 2023 figure by 5.8%. "The plans for 2025 include an increase in the total production volume, including owing to growth in the production of tanker plywood by 1.5-fold compared to 2024," Segezha said.

VPM in 2024 launched automatic format edging and woodworking centers with numerical control for additional processing of plywood boards, rendering it possible to fulfill more complex special orders.

Galich Plywood Mill, which was commissioned at the end of 2022, ramped up plywood production 44% year-on-year to 88,000 cubic meters in 2024.

Segezha boosted the volume of plywood exports 8% year-on-year to 169,000 cubic meters in 2024 from 156,000 cubic meters in 2023.

The company said that the most profitable type of product remains LNG tanker plywood, which is used to manufacture insulating layers of membrane systems in LNG tankers, supplied to China. Deliveries of the product are also planned to South Korea, with Segezha having signed a memorandum of long-term cooperation with one of South Korea's large companies at the beginning of 2025.